Instruments used in Microbiology Lab with Principle and Uses

1. Analytical Balance
 An analytical balance is a type of balance that is commonly used for the measurement of
mass in the sub-milligram range.
Working Principle:
 These types of balances are made with a measuring pan enclosed in a transparent covering
that prevents smalls particles or air currents from getting collected on the pan.
 An electric analytical balance uses the force necessary to counteract the mass rather than
measuring the mass itself.
 An electromagnet is used to create a force required to achieve a balance with the mass of
the substance, and the resulting force is displayed.
Uses
As they are highly precise and based on advanced technology, analytical balances
are explicitly used in laboratories for the effective completion of tasks like
weighing test materials and sampling amounts, formulation, density determination,
purity analysis, quality control testing, and material and conformance testing.

2. Autoclave
 An autoclave is a pressurized chamber used for the process of sterilization and disinfection by
combining three factors: time, pressure, and steam
Working Principle
 Autoclaves use steam as their sterilization agent. The basic principle of an autoclave is that all
the items within the autoclave come in direct contact with the steam for a particular period
irrespective of the nature of the material- whether it is liquid, plastic ware, or glassware.
 The amount of time and the temperature depends on the type of material being sterilized
and the increase in temperature of the cycle allows for shorter periods.
Uses
Autoclaves are mostly used for the sterilization of medical or laboratory equipment with the
capacity of sterilizing a large number of materials at once.
They are commonly used for the preparation of culture media during laboratory applications.

3. Bunsen burner
 Bunsen burner is a standard tool used in laboratories, named after Robert Bunsen.
 It is a gas-fueled single open flame.
Working Principle

 This burner is made with a metal tube on a flat base with a gas inlet at the bottom of
the tube, which may have an adjustable valve. On the sides of the tube are openings
which can be adjusted with a collar to control the amount of air that can enter.
 Once the burner is connected to a gas source, the gas is forced by the gas pressure so
that the gas reaches the top where the flame is ignited with a match or a lighter.

Uses
 It is commonly used for processes like sterilization, combustion,
and heating. In medical or microbiology laboratories, it is
commonly used for micro-loop sterilization.

4. Centrifuge
 A centrifuge is a device that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis, where
an outward force is applied perpendicularly to the axis.
 A laboratory centrifuge is motor-based and allows the rotation of a liquid sample
resulting in the separation of the components of the mixture.
Working Principle
 A centrifuge works on the principle of sedimentation, where the high speed of the
rotation causes the denser particles to move away from the center while smaller, less
dense particles are forced towards the center.
 Thus, the denser particles settle at the bottom while the lighter particles are
collected at the top.
 In a laboratory tabletop centrifuge, the sample tubes are aligned at an angle so that the
particles have to travel a shorter distance before they hit the bottom.
Uses
 The primary application of a centrifuge is the separation of particles
suspended in a suspension. It can be used for the separation of cell
organelles, nucleic acid, blood components, and separation of
isotopes.

5. Colony Counter
 A colony counter is used to estimate the density of a liquid culture by counting the
number of CFU (colony forming units) on an agar or culture plates.
Working Principle
 This instrument can accommodate different sizes of plates which are scanned on top with
UV, white light and/or fluorescent illumination.
 One can accomplish the counting either manually with the touch pressure or with a digital
counter.
Uses
 A colony counter is primarily used for counting the number of colonies
present on a culture plate to estimate the concentration of
microorganisms in liquid culture.
6. Deep Freezer
Working, Working
Principle
 Deep freezers are based on the principle that under extremely low temperatures, there is
minimum microbial growth which allows for the protection and preservation of different
substances.
 Based on this principle, we can even preserve cultures over a long period of time without
any change in the concentration of the microorganisms.
Uses
 A deep freeze can be used for the preservation of different things
used in the laboratories for a very long period of time. Deep freezers
are used in laboratories to store and preserve medical equipment,
food items, blood samples, medicines, and injections, etc. for a more
extended period of time.

7. Homogenize
 Homogenizer is a device used in laboratories for the mixing of various liquids and
materials like tissue, plant, food, soil, and many others.
Working Principle
 This instrument is based on the principle that when large globules in coarse emulsion are
passed under high pressure through a narrow orifice, they break down into smaller particles
giving a more uniform and stable mixture.
 A homogenizer has a metal rod with narrow parallel openings in the form of a comb at the
end which acts as the orifice for the homogenization process.
Uses
 A homogenizer is primarily used to disrupt cells to acquire cell
organelles for different microbiological processes.
 It is used in the preparation step before the extraction and purification of
different macromolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids.

8. Hot plate
 A hot plate is a stand-alone appliance used in microbiology
laboratories as a tabletop heating system.

Working Principle
 Unlike the traditional ways of producing heat through the fire, a hot plate produces heat
by the flow of electricity.
 On a hot plate, electricity runs through the coils which have a high level of electrical
resistance. The resistance in the coils converts the electrical energy into heat energy which
causes the coils to release heat.
Uses
 In a laboratory, hot plates are used to heat glassware and their components.
 They are used over water baths as in water baths might be hazardous in
 case of any spills or overheat.

9. Hot air oven

 A hot air oven is an electrical device that is used for sterilization of medical
equipment or samples using dry heat.
Working Principle
 Hot air oven is a type of dry heat sterilization which is performed on dry materials and
on substances that do not melt or catch fire under high temperature.
 There are two types of hot air oven based on the working principle
 Forced air hot air oven: In this type of hot air oven, the heated air inside the oven is
distributed throughout the oven with a fan. This prevents the rising of hot air towards the
top while keeping the cold air at the bottom. This allows for the adequate heating of
materials inside the oven.
 Static air hot air oven: In this type of oven, the heat is produced by coils present at the
bottom of the oven with no fan. The hot air rises and doesn’t allow the effective
sterilization of the materials.
 The equipment inside the oven acquire heat and pass the heat towards the center, one
layer at a time which allows for effective dry heat sterilization.
Uses
 Hot air oven can be used to sterilize materials like glassware,
metal equipment, powders, etc.
 It allows for the destruction of microorganisms as well as bacterial
spores.

10. Incubator
 An incubator is a device that is used in the laboratories for the growth and
maintenance of microorganisms and cultures.
 Incubator provides an optimal temperature, pressure, moisture, among other things
required for the growth of microorganisms.

\Working Principle
 The incubator is based on the principle of maintaining a proper atmosphere for the
growth of microorganisms.
 Incubators have a heating system that allows for the temperature within the incubator
to be adjusted according to the type of organism cultivated inside.
 Similarly, they are provided with adjustments for maintaining the concentration of CO2
to balance the pH and humidity required for the growth of the organisms.
 variation of the incubator like a shaking incubator is also available, which allows for the
 continuous movement of the culture required for cell aeration and solubility studies.

Uses
 Incubators have a wide range of applications including cell culture,
pharmaceutical studies, hematological studies, and biochemical
studies.
 Incubators can also be used in the stem cell research area.

11. Laminar Air Flow/ Laminar Hood

 Laminar Hood is a closed device primarily for processes or instruments sensitive to
microbial contamination.
Working Principle
 A Laminar Hood is made up of stainless steel, avoiding joints and corners to
prevent the accumulation of bacterial spores.
 This device creates a sterile environment with the flow of sterile air through a High-
Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter and shortwave ultraviolet germicidal lamp that
sterilizes the workstation.
 Laminar Air Flow has to turn on 15 minutes before to ensure complete sterilization
and the workstation should be cleaned with ethanol before and after use.
Uses
 Laminar Hood is commonly used to conduct processes
that are sensitive to contamination.
 It is used for experiments related to plant tissue culture and for
the experiments of genetic transformation.

12. Magnetic Stirrer

 Magnetic Stirrer is a device commonly used in microbiology laboratories for the purpose
of mixing liquids.
Working Principle
 This device consists of a rotating magnetic or an electromagnet creating a rotating
magnetic field that allows the stir bar (a piece of heavy metal) to move around in the
vessel.
 It is coupled with a heating system to heat the liquid while it mixed.

Uses
 It is usually used for mixing various liquid components in a mixture in
a chemical or microbiology laboratory.
 This device is used in place of other stirrers as it is noise-free and
because the size of the stir bar is so tiny, there is less chance of
contamination.

13. Microscope
  Microscopes are devices that allow the observer to an exceedingly close view of minute
particles.
Working Principle
 There are many different types of microscopes, each of which works on their
respective principles. However, there is some commonality in them.
 The basic principle in a microscope is magnification. Based on the relative position of the
object from the lens or electromagnets, different positions, nature, and magnification of
the image can be achieved.
 Different types of microscopes are developed to cater to the specific needs of the
observation. However, the common theme is magnification.
Uses
 Based on the type of microscopes, different microscopes are used for
different purposes.
 They are primarily used for the observation of minute particles which cannot
be observed with naked eyes.

14. pH Meter
 pH meter is a device used in laboratories that measure the H-ion concentration in water-
based solutions to determine the acidity or alkalinity of the solution.
 A pH meter is often termed as “potentiometric pH meter” as it measures the difference in
electric potential between the reference and a pH electrode.
Working Principle
 In a potentiometric pH meter, single or multiple glass electrodes, connected to a bulb
selective to hydrogen ions, are attached to a metal rod.
 When the bulb with the electrodes is dipped into a solution, hydrogen ions in the
solution exchange with positive charges on the electrode generating an electrochemical
potential which is displayed in terms of pH units on display.
Uses
 A pH meter is primarily used to measure the acidity of pharmaceutical
chemicals, cultures, soil, and water treatment plant.
 It can be used to measure the acidity level in wine and cheese
during their production.

15. Spectrophotometer
 The spectrophotometer is an optical instrument for measuring the intensity of light in
relation to the wavelength.
 Based on the amount of light absorbed by a colored solution, a quantitative
analysis of the solution can be done.
Working Principle
 Spectrophotometry is based on the Beer-Lambert Law, which states the absorbance of light
by a solution (of a particular wavelength) is directly proportional to the concentration of the
substance.
 Different wavelengths of lights are passed through a solution as different substances have
better absorbance at different wavelengths. Based on the absorbance of a particular
wavelength, the quantitative analysis of a solution can be done.
Uses
 In a microbiology laboratory, a spectrophotometer is applied for the
measurement of substance concentration of protein, nucleic acids,
bacterial growth, and enzymatic reactions.

16. Vortex Mixture/ Vortexer

 A vortex mixture is one of the basic technologies used for the mixing of samples in glass
tubes or flasks in laboratories.
Working Principle
 It is based on the simple principle of causing reactions and homogenization by
agitating the mixture.
 Motorized draft shafts present on the mixer oscillates and transfers the movement to the
sample tubes causing the sample fluids to undergo turbulent flow.
Uses
 Vortex mixer is mostly used for the mixing of various sample fluids in
the sample tubes s and allows for the homogenization of cells and cell
organelles.

17. Water Bath

 Water Bath is a conventional device that is used for chemical reactions that required a
controlled environment at a constant temperature.
Working Principle
 A sensor in the device transfers water temperature to a reference value
which is then amplified and a control system generates a signal for the heating
system which heats the water to the desired temperature.
Uses
 Water baths are primarily used for heating samples under a controlled
temperature.
 These are suitable for heating chemicals that might be flammable under direct ignition.

18. Water Distiller

 A water distiller is a device that purifies water by the process of distillation.
 This instrument is commonly used in medical laboratories, microbiology
laboratories, organic chemistry laboratories and medical industries.

Working Principle
 A water distiller is based on the principle of distillation.
 According to this process, water is first brought to a boil and then condensed into liquid
form to obtain pure distilled water.
Uses
 It is used to obtain distilled water required for many lab tests as
well as for the preparation of culture media.